Prasad Yarlagedda, left, showed Gov. Steve Beshear on Oct. 2, 2013, how the new Kynect health exchange kiosks worked at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital. Most Lexington hospitals signed up to inform people about their health insurance options. Photos by Mark Cornelison | Staff MARKCORNELISONHerald-Leader|BuyPhoto

Kentucky's state-run implementation of health care reform, Kynect, has enrolled 15,000 people in insurance programs while the federal effort has been hampered by technical problems.

At a news conference Monday, President Barack Obama said he was frustrated with the issues that have plagued the federal system run through Healthcare.gov.

But in Kentucky, things appear to be running smoothly.

Kentucky was one of 17 states that decided to create its own health insurance marketplace known as an exchange. The mostly web-based program is centered at Kynect.Ky.gov, where Kentuckians register to be enrolled in health insurance and explore their options.

"We're incredibly proud of the continued success of Kynect, which has helped thousands of Kentuckians find affordable health coverage, many of them for the first time," Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday in a written statement. "In the first two weeks of operation alone, an average of 1,000 Kentuckians enrolled in new health coverage each day which made Kentucky's health benefit exchange among the nation's most reliable and successful."

Beshear added that Kynect, pronounced "connect," was "a national model for success."

As of Monday morning, 272,339 people had visited the Kynect website, viewing more than 6 million pages, according to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Also, 241,000 people entered their personal information to see whether they qualified for subsidies, discounts or government-funded programs such Medicaid.

Beshear said that level of participation indicated the pent-up demand for health care.

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Health care enrollment operates smoothly in Kentucky, but federal website remains problematic